Drexel advanced to Friday's semifinals with a 30-point tournament-opening win.
No. 1 Drexel Locks Down UNCW to Advance to Semis
Megan O'Brien
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PHILADELPHIA (March 8, 2018) – A quick start and a strong defensive effort lifted top seeded Drexel University to a 71-41 win over No. 8 UNCW in the quarterfinals of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship.
Drexel, which advanced to the CAA semifinals for the third straight year and eighth time in program history, was led by Kelsi Lidge who had 18 points. The Dragons (25-6) jumped out to a 20-4 lead in the first quarter and recorded 18 steals on 25 UNCW turnovers. Winners of seven-straight, the Dragons will face the winner of No. 4 Northeastern/No. 5 Delaware on Friday. UNCW wrapped up its season with 12-19 mark.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Drexel got off to a quick start as the Dragons opened up an 11-0 lead with 6:28 to go in the first. UNCW got on the board with a foul shot from Chinyere Bell at 2:55. A jumper from Hannah Nihill just before the buzzer gave Drexel a 20-4 lead. The Dragons held the Seahawks to a 7.7 field goal percentage in the first 10 minutes of play.
The Seahawks scored six of the first eight points in the second quarter and cut the Drexel lead to 10 with 6:24 to go in the period. The two teams battled down the stretch as the Seahawks cut the Dragons’ lead to nine points twice but that was as close as they would get as the top seed took a 31-20 lead at the half.
The Drexel defense locked down in the second half forcing UNCW into 14 turnovers and holding the Seahawks to 21 points in the two quarters combined. It was a balanced attack for the Dragons in the second half as nine Dragons scored at least two points. Eline Maesschalck led Drexel with eight points in the second half. Three-point shooting aided the Dragons in the second half as Drexel hit five of its nine three-pointers after halftime.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
The 71 points scored by the Dragons are the most points in a CAA Tournament game since Drexel scored 71 points in the quarterfinals of the 2016 tournament against Towson.
Drexel held UNCW to four points and one field goal in the opening quarter. It was the second fewest points and field goals in CAA Championship history.
For Drexel, it was its first ever win over UNCW in the CAA Tournament. The Seahawks had claimed a 63-51 win in the quarterfinals of the 2011 CAA Championship.
Drexel finished the game with 18 steals, it was the second most steals by the Dragons in a single-game this season. Drexel’s season-high in steals came against Lafayette in December when they had 20.
Lidge tied her career-high with four three-pointers, three of which came in the first quarter of the contest.
Nihill and Sara Woods joined Lidge in double figures as they each tallied 11 points. Nihill added a game-high five steals while Woods led Drexel on the boards with seven.
Lacey Suggs came off the bench to lead UNCW with 14 points and four assists while Paige Powell added 10 points.
